Executive Summary

Mobile phone markets are one of the most turbulent market

environments today due to increased competition and change. Thus, it is of
growing concern to look at consumer buying decision process and cast light
on the factors that finally determine consumer choices between different
mobile phone brands. On this basis, this report deals with consumers’ choice
criteria in mobile phone markets by studying factors that influence intention to
acquire new mobile phones on one hand and factors that influence on mobile
phone change on the other .
Under this project contains entire consumer decision making
process starting from need recognition to purchase is taken into account to
find out how various factors like personal, economical, psychological and
social affects consumer's purchase decision at each stage. Various other
element of consumer behavior like motivation, perception, learning, and
attitude are also studied to get better understanding of study.
Under research non-probability convenient sampling method is
used, questionnaire is selected as an instrument to collect primary data &
respondents are personally interviewed.

1
About Mobile Phone

This history of mobile phones chronicles the development of handheld

radio telephone technology from two-way radios in vehicles to handheld
cellular items.

In the beginning, two-way radios (known as mobile rigs) were used in vehicles
such as taxicabs, police cruisers, ambulances, and the like, but were not
mobile phones because they were not normally connected to the telephone
network. Users could not dial phone numbers from their mobile radios in their
vehicles. A large community of mobile radio users, known as the mob leers,
popularized the technology that would eventually give way to the mobile
phone. Originally, mobile phones were permanently installed in vehicles, but
later versions such as the so-called transportables or "bag phones" were
equipped with a cigarette lighter plug so that they could also be carried, and
thus could be used as either mobile or as portable two-way radios. During the
early 1940s, Motorola developed a backpacked two-way radio, the Walkie-
Talkie and later developed a large hand-held two-way radio for the US
military. This battery powered "Handie-Talkie" (HT) was about the size of a
man's forearm.

In Europe, radio telephony was first used on the first-class passenger trains
between Berlin and Hamburg in 1926. At the same time, radio telephony was
introduced on passenger airplanes for air traffic security. Later radio
telephony was introduced on a large scale in German tanks during the
Second World War. After the war German police in the British zone of
occupation first used disused tank telephony equipment to run the first radio
patrol cars.In all of these cases the service was confined to specialists that
were trained to use the equipment. In the early 1950s ships on the Rhine
were among the first to use radio telephony with an untrained end customer
as a user.

Early years

Dr. Martin Cooper of Motorola, made the first US analogue mobile phone call
on a larger prototype model in 1973.

In December 1947, Douglas H. Ring and W. Rae Young, Bell Labs engineers,
proposed hexagonal cells for mobile phones.[1] Philip T. Porter, also of Bell
Labs, proposed that the cell towers be at the corners of the hexagons rather
than the centers and have directional antennas that would transmit/receive in
3 directions (see picture at right) into 3 adjacent hexagon cells.[2] [3] The
technology did not exist then and the frequencies had not yet been allocated.
Cellular technology was undeveloped until the 1960s, when Richard H.
Frenkiel and Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs developed the electronics.

Recognizable mobile phones with direct dialing have existed at least since the
1950s. In the 1954 movie Sabrina, the businessman Linus Larrabee (played
by Humphrey Bogart) makes a call from the phone in the back of his
limousine.

2
The first fully automatic mobile phone system, called MTA (Mobile Telephone
system A), was developed by Ericsson and commercially released in Sweden
in 1956. This was the first system that didn't require any kind of manual
control, but had the disadvantage of a phone weight of 40 kg (90 lb).It had
150 customers in the beginning and 600 when it shut down in 1983.

In 1957, the young radio engineer Leonid Kupriyanovich in Moscow, USSR,

made the experimental model of wearable automatic mobile phone
("radiophone"), called him as LK-1, with base station,3 kg weight, 20-30 km
operating distance, and 20-30 hours of battery life.In 1958, Kupriyanovich
made the new experimental "pocket" model of mobile phone. This phone has
0,5 kg weight. To serve more customers, Kupriyanovich proposed the device,
named him as correllator.

In 1958 USSR also started the developing of "Altay" national civil mobile
phone service for cars, based on Soviet MRT-1327 standard.In 1963 this
service started in Moscow and in 1970 Altay service used in USSR for 30
cities. Last upgraded versions of Altay system still in use in some places of
Russia as trunking system.

In 1967, each mobile phone had to stay within the cell area serviced by one
base station throughout the phone call. This did not provide continuity of
automatic telephone service to mobile phones moving through several cell
areas. In 1970 Amos E. Joel, Jr., another Bell Labs engineer,[4] invented an
automatic "call handoff" system to allow mobile phones to move through
several cell areas during a single conversation without loss of conversation.

In December 1971, AT&T submitted a proposal for cellular service to the

Federal Communications Commission (FCC). After years of hearings, the
FCC approved the proposal in 1982 for Advanced Mobile Phone Service
(AMPS) and allocated frequencies in the 824-894 MHz band.[5] Analog
AMPS was superseded by Digital AMPS in 1990.

First generation

Main article: 1G

The first commercial launch of cellular telecoms was launched by NET in

Tokyo Japan in 1979. In 1981 the NMT system was launched in Denmark,
Finland, Norway and Sweden.

The first handheld mobile phone in the US market was the Motorola_Dyna
8000X, which received approval in 1983.

Mobile phones began to proliferate through the 1980s with the introduction of
"cellular" phones based on cellular networks with multiple base stations
located relatively close to each other, and protocols for the automated
"handover" between two cells when a phone moved from one cell to the
other. At this time analog transmission was in use in all systems. Mobile
phones were somewhat larger than current ones, and at first, all were
designed for permanent installation in vehicles (hence the term car phone).
Soon, some of these bulky units were converted for use as "transportable"
phones the size of a briefcase. Motorola introduced the first truly portable,

3
hand held phone. These systems (NIT, AMPS, SACS, RT MI, C-Net, and
Radio com 2000) later became known as first generation (1G) mobile phones.

Second generation

Main articles: 2G, 2.5G, and 2.75G

A 1991 GSM mobile phone

In the 1990s, 'second generation' (2G) mobile phone systems such as GSM,
IS-136 ("TDMA"), iDEN and IS-95 ("CDMA") began to be introduced. In 1991
the first GSM network (Radiolinja) opened in Finland. 2G phone systems
were characterized by digital circuit switched transmission and the
introduction of advanced and fast phone to network signaling. In general the
frequencies used by 2G systems in Europe were higher though with some
overlap, for example the 900 MHz frequency range was used for both 1G and
2G systems in Europe and so such 1G systems were rapidly closed down to
make space for 2G systems. In America the IS-54 standard was deployed in
the same band as AMPS and displaced some of the existing analog
channels.

Coinciding with the introduction of 2G systems was a trend away from the
larger "brickle" phones toward tiny 100–200g hand-held devices, which soon
became the norm. This change was possible through technological
improvements such as more advanced batteries and more energy-efficient
electronics, but also was largely related to the higher density of cellular sites
caused by increasing usage levels which decreased the demand for high
transmit powers to reach distant towers for customers to be satisfied.

The second generation introduced a new variant to communication, as SMS

text messaging became possible, initially on GSM networks and eventually on
all digital networks. The first machine-generated SMS message was sent in
the UK in 1991. The first person-to-person SMS text message was sent in
Finland in 1993. Soon SMS became the communication method of preference
for the youth. Today in many advanced markets the general public prefers
sending text messages to placing voice calls.

2G also introduced the ability to consume media content on mobile phones,

when Radiolinja (now Elisa) in Finland introduced the downloadable ringing
tone as paid content. Finland was also the first country where advertising
appeared on the mobile phone

4
Introduction to Consumer Behavior

Definition

“The behavior that consumers display in searching for, purchasing, using,

evaluating, and disposing of products and services that they expect will
satisfy their needs”

Consumer behavior refers to the mental and emotional process and the
observable behavior of consumer. Consumer behavior is a detailed study of
how people buy, what they buy, when they buy and why they buy. It blends
the elements from psychology, sociology, socio psychology, anthropology and
economics. It also tries to assess the influence on the consumer from groups
such as family, friends, reference groups and society in general.

Factors Affecting Consumer Buying Behavior

Consumer buying behavior is influenced by the major three factors, Social

Factors, Psychological Factors &Personal Factors.

Social Factor
Social factors refer to forces that other people exert and which affect
consumers’ purchase behavior. These social factors can include culture and
subculture, family, social class and reference groups. Example By taking into
consideration Reference group, these can influence the consumer buying
behavior. Reference group refers to a group with whom an individual
identifies herself/ himself and the extent to which that person assumes many
values, attitudes or behavior of group members. Reference groups can be
family, school or college, work group, club membership, citizenship etc...

Psychological Factors
These are internal to an individual and generate forces within that influence
her/his purchase behavior. The major forces include motives, perception,
learning, attitude and personality. Example A Consumer form attitude towards
a brand on the basis of their beliefs about the brand, which may depend upon
its past experience and knowledge. For example, customer of Samsung

5
product might have the belief that the products offered by Samsung are
technologically sound and advance; this will influence the customer to buy
Samsung products due to this attitude towards the brand.

Personal Factor
These include those aspects that are unique to a person and influence
purchase behavior. These factors include demographic factors, lifestyle, and
situational factors. Example Lifestyle is an indicator of how people live and
express themselves on the basis of their activities, interests, and opinions.
Lifestyle dimension provide a broader view of people about how they spend
their time the importance of things in their surroundings and their beliefs on
broad issues associated with life and living and themselves. This is influenced
by demographic factors and personality. Example a CEO of a company is
likely to buy more formal clothes, ties & suits and less informal clothes like
jeans as compared to a college boy. So according to their lifestyle and
profession, the buying behavior of people differs from one another.

Consumer decision making process

cision Making External Influence

Firm ’s Marketing E
1. Product
Input 2. Promotion
3. Price
4. Channels of distri

Figure 1.1- A Model of Consumer Decision Making

Source - Consumer Behavioral, Schiffman & Kanuk

Need
Recognition
6
Input

Marketing inputs

It includes firms direct marketing efforts in terms of product

,price ,place & promotion by which it influence and motivate the
consumer to buy its product.

Sociocultural inputs

It consist of wide range of non commercial influences, E.g.

comments of a friend, editorial in news paper, family members
assortment etc...These factors are internalized and affect how
consumers evaluate and ultimately adopt or reject products.

Process of consumer buying

Problem Recognition

Information Search

Alternative Evaluation

Purchase

Post Purchase Evaluation

Problem Recognition
Purchase decision making process begins when a buyer becomes aware of
an unsatisfied need or problem. This is the vital stage in buying decision
process, because without recognizing the need or want, an individual would
not seek to buy goods or service. There can be a several situations that can
cause problem recognition.

7
Information Search
After the consumer has recognized the need, he / she will trying to find the
means to solve that need. First he will recall how he used to solve such kind
of a problem in the past, this is called nominal decision making. Secondly, a
consumer will try to solve the problem by asking a friend or goes to the
market to seek advice for which product will best serve his need, this is called
limited decision making. A source of information includes Personal sources,
Commercial Sources, Public sources & Personal experience.

Alternatives evaluation
Consumers’ evaluates criteria refers to various dimension; features,
characteristics and benefits that a consumer desires to solve a certain
problem. Product features and its benefit is what influence consumer to prefer
that particular product. The consumer will decide which product to buy from a
set of alternative products depending on each unique feature that the product
offers and the benefit he / she can get out of that feature.

Purchase Action
This stage involves selection of brand and the retail outlet to purchase such a
product. Retail outlet image and its location are important. Consumer usually
prefers a nearby retail outlet for minor shopping and they can willingly go to a
far away store when they purchase items which are of higher values and
which involve higher sensitive purchase decision.

Post-purchase Actions
Consumer favorable post-purchase evaluation leads to satisfaction.
Satisfaction with the purchase is basically a function of the initial performance
level expectation and perceived performance relative to those expectations.
Consumer tends to evaluate their wisdom on the purchase of that particular
product. This can result to consumer experiencing post purchase
dissatisfaction. If the consumer’s perceived performance level is below
expectation and fail to meet satisfaction this will eventually cause
dissatisfaction, and so the brand and/ or the outlet will not be considered by
the consumer in the future purchases. This might cause the consumer to

8
initiate complaint behavior and spread negative word-of-mouth concerning
that particular product.

My study
“Factors affecting a consumer's decision with respect to a
purchasing a mobile handset in Baroda region”

Baroda city profile

Baroda also known as Vadodara. 'Vadodara' means 'City of Banyan Trees'. It
is also known as the Sayaji Nagari or Sanskari Nagari (Cultural Capital of
Gujarat). Baroda is a cosmopolitan cities, Because of cosmopolitan MS
University campus & proliferation of academic activities,Subsequent
industrialization & important geographical location, Baroda has welcomed a
wide variety of people from all over India.

Baroda is the third most-populated town in the Gujarat after Ahmedabad and
Surat. Total population of Baroda is 16 Lacks [As of 2005], while 22 lacks is
projected population as of 2007

• Male 52%, Female 48 %

• Overall Literacy rate of Baroda is 78% (2001).

Males 79.21%; Females 68.41%

Research objective
To study how external & internal environment influence consumer's mobile
purchase decision with reference to sociocultural environment , psychological
field, consumers experience & organizations marketing efforts .

Importance of research
The most rapid changing industry is technology industry & most changing
market is electronic market, a consumer has become more smart & vigilance
in terms of his purchase then ever, so it become absolutely necessary for
organizations to study the factors which affect consumers buying behavior
this research is a small attempt to study consumers decision making in terms
9
of his mobile purchase, which can useful to both prospective consumer as
well as mobile companies.

Research Methodology

Research Design

Exploratory research method is used, as purpose of research was to explore

primary data from consumers in respect to their mobile handset.

Sources of data

Both primary & secondary data were used; primary data were collected
through survey.

Research Instrument

Questionnaire was used to collect data from respondents.

Sampling Procedure

Non probability sampling procedure was used under which convenience

sampling method was used.

Sampling unit

Mobile owners in Baroda city were the sampling unit.

Sampling size

250 Respondents.

Contact Method

Personal interview of respondent was conducted.

Limitation of Research
1. Time was one of biggest limitation of this research, because of which
only 250 respondents were interviewed which may not give real picture
of situation.
2. The response of the survey may be colored by respondents’
perception.

10
 Research Analysis & Findings
Q- 2. Age (years)

B e l o w 2 02 1 - 3 0 3 1 -4 0 4 1 -5 0 A bove 50
40 70 50 50 40

Age(years)

16% 16%

Below 20
21­30
31­40
41­50
Above 50
20%

28%

20%

Q-3. Gender
Male Female
152 98

Gender

39%

Male
Female

61%

11
 Q .4 E d u c a ti o n a l q u a l i fi c a ti o n
U n d e r g r a d u a te G r a d u a te P o s t g r a d u a te O th e r
75 93 82 -

Educational qualification

30%
33%

Under graduate
Graduate
Post graduate
Other

37%

Q .5 O c c u p a ti o n
S e rv ic e B u s in e s s P ro fe s s io n S tu d e n t O th e r
62 34 36 88 30

occupation
12%

25%

Service
Business
Profession
Student
35% Other

14%

14%

12
Q.6 Family Income (Per Month)

U p to 5 0 0 0 5 0 0 0 -1 5 0 0 0 1 5 0 0 0 -2 5 0 0 0 25000 & above

23 77 82 68

family income(per month)

9%

27%

Up to 5000
5000 -15000
15000-25000
31%
25000 & above

33%

Respondents Demographic
 In my study I have tried to take respondents from all age group,
however I got highest percentage of respondents between 21-30 ages
of group.
 Majority of my respondents were male however at time of collecting
data care was taken that both genders of respondent are given equal
chance.
 As you can see from pie chart of education that majority of my
respondents were graduation followed by post graduate and under
graduate.
 As economic parameter matters a most in any kind of purchase, care
was taken to collect data from various level of economic class as a
result various range of family income were decided to segment
respondent and data are collected accordingly.
 Majority of my respondents were students for that purpose data are
collected from school, college of graduation and post graduation level.
For professional respondent’s interview of advocates, teachers,
doctors etc are taken.

13
Q.7 Which brand/s of mobile handset do you have?

Nok ia M otorola S ony S am s ung

58 23 48 38

Relianc e T A TA LG O ther
70 25 15 40

13%
18%

5%
Nokia
Motorola

7% Sony
8%
Samsung
Reliance
TATA
LG

15% Other

22%

12%

Reliance mobile enjoys preference because of lowest rate & sound

network, followed by Nokia because of its strong brand image in terms of
quality & durability. Sony & Samsung are sharing same kind of preference
amongst customer. Some customers also prefer other brands like LG,
Spice, Motorola, Segam, Blackberry, China mobile etc...Due to its unique
features .

14
Q.8 Did you have any mobile before this?

Yes No
173 77

31%

Yes
No

69%

Majority of the respondents have already had mobile in past or they

are using more than one mobile.
Q-9 Do you think your experience with your past mobile helped you to buy
new mobile?

Yes No
158 15
9%

Yes
No

91%

Majority of respondent also feel that their experience with their past mobile
also helped them to buy new mobile

Q-10 you bought new mobile because of following (specify)

15
 Innovation Multiple usage Other
96 94 60

24%

38%

Innovation
Multiple usage
Other

38%

Majority of respondent's feel that sometimes they buy new mobile just
because of new exiting features, new innovative technology, and some found
that they want new mobile because of multiple usage like besides
communication music ,video ,radio, office applications etc.. Some
respondents also mention other purpose like social purpose.

16
Q- 11. You think your need to have mobile is because of your-

P ro fe s s io n Job B u s in e s s H obby
36 62 34 120
S a fe ty S ta tu s E n jo y m e n t O th e r re a s o n
102 40 146 5
F a m ily in flu e n c e
68

30

24% Profession
25
Job
Business
20 19% Hobby
17% Family influence
Safety
15 Status
Enjoyment
11%
10% Other reason
10
7%
6%
5%
5
1%
0
Row 64

Its quite surprising to note that majority of respondents were though that their
need to have mobile is because of their enjoyment followed by hobby and
safety and very less no. of person feels its necessary because of their
profession, job and business.

17
Q- 12. How do you come to know about this mobile handset?

News paper T.V . Internet Hoardings

58 42 15 12
M agaz ine Radio Friends Colleague
21 3 78 38
S ales pers on Fam ily Cons um er report Retailer
108 92 0 78

25

News paper
20% T.V.
20 Internet
17% Hoardings
Magazine
15 14% 14% Radio
Friends
Colleague
10%
10 Sales person
8%
7% Family
Consumer report
5 4% Retailer
3%
2% Other
1%

0
Row 74

Majority of respondents are come to now about their mobile from sales
person and retailer followed by family and friend, news paper is most
important medium to advertisement of mobile hand set, as no of people buy
their mobile by seeing advertisement in news paper.

18
 Q- 13. Did any person recommend you to buy this mobile?

Yes No
138 112

45%
Yes
55% No

So far as recommendation is concerned there is no significant different, how

ever during study it is been found that a person generally seek advice of his
near & dear about preference of handset.

Q.14 with whom did you purchased mobile?

S e lf o n ly F a m ily C o lle a g u e F rie n d O th e r

31 70 28 110 11
4%
12%

Self only
Family
28% 44%
Colleague
Friend
Other

Friend sand family member are the best companion at time of buying mobile
handset simple reason is given by respondents is that by keeping friends and
salesperson together they get assuring that their selection is right and it
becomes easy to take decision.

19
Q-15 please indicate the importance of each of the characteristics in choosing
your mobile handset & rates them accordingly?

P a r a m e te r R a tin g s M e a n s c o re
E x tre m e ly V e r y S om e w hat N e ith e r im p o r ta nUt n im p o r ta n t
Im p o r ta n t Im p o r ta n t Im p o r ta n t N o r u n im p o r ta n t
P ric e 98 71 43 32 6
% 39 28 17 13 3
A v e r a g e R a tin g 1 .9 6 1 .1 3 0 .5 1 0 .2 5 0 .0 2 3 .8 7

Q u a lity 148 86 16 0 0
% 59 34 7 0 0
A v e r a g e R a tin g 2 .9 6 1 .3 7 0 .1 9 0 0 4 .5 2

fu n c tio n s 75 78 49 36 12
% 30 31 20 14 5
A v e r a g e R a tin g 1 .5 1 .2 4 0 .5 8 0 .2 8 0 .0 4 3 .6 4

B ra n d n a m e 8 1 73 53 41 2
% 32 29 21 17 1
A v e r a g e R a tin g 1 .6 2 1 .1 6 0 .6 3 0 .3 2 0 .0 1 3 .7 4

G u a r a n ty /w a r r a n 1ty0 0 82 42 25 1
% 40 33 17 10 0 .4
A v e r a g e R a tin g 1 1 .3 1 0 .5 0 .2 0 3 .0 1

R e s a le 42 45 42 60 61
% 17 18 17 24 24
A v e r a g e R a tin g 0 .8 4 0 .7 2 0 .5 0 .4 8 0 .2 4 2 .7 8

P a r ts a v a ila b ility &8 0 61 52 40 17

R e p a ir % 32 24 21 16 7
A v e r a g e R a tin g 1 .6 0 .9 7 0 .6 2 0 .3 2 0 .0 6 3 .5 7

Above table shows comparison of five parameter which generally a person

take into consideration at time of buying mobile handset. respondent have
given most preference to quality followed by price, brand name, parts
availability, guaranty & warranty and lastly resale price.

20
Q.16 On the same criteria, rate how important following thing for you

Parameter Rating Mean score

Extremely Very important Some what Neither importantU nimportant
Important Important Nor unimportant
Status 40 16 53 76 65
% 16 7 21 30 26
Average Rating 0.8 0.25 0.63 0.6 0.26 2.54

Style 113 72 10 12 43
% 45 29 41-50 5 17
Average Rating 2.26 1.15 0.12 0.09 0.17 3.79

Colour 91 83 59 13 4
% 36 33 24 5 2
Average Rating 1.82 1.32 0.7 0.1 0.01 3.95

Brand endorser 6 8 6 94 136

% 2 3 2 38 55
Average Rating 0.12 0.12 0.07 0.75 0.54 1.6

Emotional attachment 48 42 33 70 57
% 19 17 13 28 23
Average Rating 0.96 0.67 0.39 0.56 0.22 2.8

colors and style are most important an elements in mobile handset, how ever
an emotional attachment with brand like if all in family have Nokia mobile at
time of buying new mobile Nokia would be given preference. Brand endorser
has least affect on consumer’s preference of mobile handset.

21
Q.17 Read the following sentences and select which is applicable to you

1 I s e l e c te d th e m o b i l e w h i c h w a s b e s t i n a l l c r i te r i a w h i c h i w a7 n8 t e d
2 I s e l e c te d th e m o b i l e h i g h e s t i n o v e r a l l c r i te r i a 31
3 I s e l e c te d th e m o b i l e w h i c h h a d a t l e a s t o n e i m p o r t a n t c r i te r i 1a 3w h i c h i w a n te d to
4 I l o o k e d a t th e c r i te r i a t h a t w a s m o s t i m p o r t a n t to m e & c h o s 2e 6th e m o b i l e w h i c h

%
Column H
I selected the I selected the I selected mobile
mobile which was mobile which had on the base of past
best in all criteria at least one experience &
Column F which i wanted important criteria knowledge
which i wanted to
have
I selected the I looked at the
Column E mobile highest in criteria that was
overall criteria most important to
me & chose the
mobile which
Column D ranked highest in
feature

Column C

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45

From Chart it appears that past experience and knowledge are the main
source of for consumer to take decision for new mobile.

22
Q-18
W hich of follow ing hand set features you took into consideration at time of buying mobile?

P hone size 188 D ual S im card 12

W eight 202 W eb brow ser 32
S tandard battery 173 B lue tooth 150
Music player 150 USB 140
Fm radio 173 Java 10
C amera 148 K eypad size 31
V ideo player 130 N avigation 9
D isplay size & type 142 Office application 42
P hone memory 41 Games 40

HANDSET FETURES (%)

12 Weight Web browser

Standard battery Blue tooth
Music player USB
10 Fm radio Java
Camera Keypad size
Video player Navigation
8 Display size & Office application
type
Phone memory Games
6 mmc/expandable Other
Dual Sim card

0
10
Weight is the most important criteria for consumer followed by features alike
Bluetooth, FM radio, camera are have almost equal preference given by the
consumer. Whereas applications like java, web, and office applications are
given preference only by techno savvy consumer.

23
Q.19 With which characteristic/s you can associate your mobile brand

S in c e re 18 H onest 22 C h e e r fu l 3 2
D a rin g 21 S p i r i te d 31 Im a g i n a ti v e 1 8
R e lia b le 58 In te l l i g e n t 72
S o p h i s ti c a te d 5 3 U p p e r c la s s 53 C h a rm in g 4 1
Tough 68 R ugged 13

16 Sincere
Daring
14% 14%
14 Reliable
Sophisticated
12% Tough
12 11% 11% Honest
Spirited
10 Intelligent
Upper class
8%
8 Rugged
Cheerful
6% 6% Imaginative
6
Row 188
4% 4% 4% 4% Charming
4 3%

0
Column D

From the graph it also appears that generally consumers can associate their
mobile handset with human characteristics, as almost all 14% of consumer
finds their mobile handset tough and intelligent and like wise for other
features too.

24
 Findings
Following are some important findings appear from the research.
 Question from 1 to 6 gives idea about customer demography so far
as age is concerned it has big impact on purchase of mobile hand set,
preference for mobile handset varies with age.
 Gender also has very less impact on handset purchase however
mobile companies are now lunching various brands on the basis of
gender segment of consumers, like special model for female consumer
 Education does not have much impact on consumer’s handset
preference.
 Economic parameter matters a most in any kind of purchase as mobile
hand set has huge range of prices starting from Rs.500 to Rs.50000
and even more thus family income of consumer affects a lot on his
handset preference.
 Occupation also have effect on handset preference generally students
need to they mobile is different compare to those of professionals and
executives
 Q-7 study reflects that that majority of customers are prefer variety of
features in handset and that to at lowest price for that they give
preference to Reliance mobile because of lowest rate & sound
network, followed by Nokia because of its strong brand image in terms
of quality & durability. Sony & Samsung are sharing same kind of
preference amongst customer. I have also observed that TATA's
walky is more famous in consumers but not its mobile phone. Some
customers also prefer other brands like LG, Spice, Motorola,
Segam, Blackberry, China mobile etc...Because of its unique
characteristics which are subjective to every individual.
 Q-8 many responds keep mort then two mobile for their personal use
and their professional use.
 Q-9 Generally consumers past experience with their mobile handset
helps them to buy new hand set.
 Q-10 due to various variety and innovation now consume don’t see
their mobile as communication device only but they expect more
innovation and usage from their mobile handset.

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 Q-11 customers need to have mobile phone is subjective but one very
common thing is they also give preference to entertainment part in
mobile handset.
 Q-12 family, friend, retailer & news paper are consider as most
important source though which consumer come to know about their
mobile handset.
 Q-13 a person generally seeks advice of his near & dear about
preference of handset.
 Q-14 Due to trust that consumer have in Friend and family member
preference is given to them as a companion at time of buying mobile
handset.
 Q-15 Table in analysis of question shows comparison of five parameter
which generally a person takes into consideration at time of buying
mobile handset. respondent were asked to rate each parameter on
scale of extremely important to not important and 5 to 1 point was
given accordingly...as a result it is been found that person gives most
preference to quality followed by price, brand name, parts availability,
guaranty & warranty and lastly resale price.
 Q-16 From table it appears that colour and style are most important an
elements in mobile handset, how ever an emotional attachment with
brand like if all in family have Nokia mobile at time of buying new
mobile Nokia would be given preference. Brand endorser has least
affect on consumer’s preference of mobile handset.
 Q-17 As we can see from the chart that past experience and
knowledge are the main source of for consumer to take decision for
new mobile, however it refers from study that customer already have
some ideas in their mind before they go to purchase mobile that at
least what minimum features they want in their mobile handset.
 Q-18 Weight is the most important criteria consumer take into account
as it is been noticed that that consumer give preference to light weight
mobile which is easy & comfortable to carry. However some very
common features are like Bluetooth, FM radio, camera are have
almost equal preference given by the consumer. Whereas applications
like java, web, and office applications are given preference by techno
savvy consumer and those who use to frequently change their handset
for new and advance technology.
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 Q-19 the graph makes it clear that generally consumers can associate
their mobile handset with human characteristics, as almost all 14% of
consumer finds their mobile handset tough and intelligent and like wise
for other features too

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 Conclusion

The objective of the research was to examine consumer buying

behavior of mobile phones and to investigate various factors that affect
consumers purchase decision regarding mobile phone. The study found
strong evidence that although mobile phones are developing at a rapid pace
many consumers tend to be unaware of the properties and services the new
models in the market contain.
From a theoretical viewpoint, this report contributed to the buying
Decision making process for mobile phones by looking at consumer motives
and examining the importance of different attributes affecting the Actual
choice. In short, on the basis of Study, the following statements can be made.
First, although mobile phone choice is affected by specific phone attributes,
consumers evaluate and rank-order, choice is often made without detailed
evaluation and understanding of the properties and features new models
have. Second, decision making mainly follows a rational decision making
process in which different attributes are evaluated, but also has some
symbolic nature as brand was regarded as important among many study
participants.
The most remarkable implication for mobile phone manufacturers,
resellers and other value chain members is that advertising of new mobile
phone models should go beyond highlighting properties to highlighting what
users can do with all the new technical features. Mobile Phone advertising
has long been based on eliciting properties and abbreviations (e.g., GPRS,
Bluetooth) that are fully understood only by technology savvy consumers.
Therefore, more attention should be paid to educative advertising and
marketing.

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 Scope for further study

The research is up to the stage of purchase in consumer buying process

further study can be done on next steps like post purchase and repeat
purchase behavior of consumer. This research contains only general view of
various parameter of consumer behavior like motivation, perception, learning
and personality a detail study can be done on each of this parameter, Despite
this piece of research provides some insights into the factors that influence
the choice of a mobile phone model, the work is still at an early stage and
certain limitations concerning the research setting should be noted in order to
guide future research of this phenomenon. For example, the results cannot be
generalized and might be biased by other subjects.

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 Annexure

Questionnaire
Factors affecting consumer decision on purchasing mobile handset

1. Name:___________________________________________________

2. Age (Years):
Below 20 21 to 30 31to 40
41 to 50 above 50

3. Gender: Male Female

4. Educational Qualification:
Under-Graduate Graduate
Post-Graduate Other ___________

5. Occupation:
Service Business
Profession Student
Other__________

6. Family Income (Per Month):

Up to Rs.5, 000
Rs.5, 000 to Rs.15, 000
Rs.15, 000 to Rs.25, 000
Rs.25000 & Above

7. Which brand/s of mobile handset do you have?

Nokia Motorola Sony Samsung
Reliance TATA LG Other
___
Model no 1) _____________ 2) ___________ 3) ______________
8. Did you have any mobile before this mobile?
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 Yes No
If yes, how many________ brand ____________&
Model no_________
1. Do you think your experience with your mobile helped you to buy
new mobile?
Yes No
If yes, how? ______________________________________________

1. You bought new mobile because of following (specify) -

Innovation________________________________________________
Multiple usages____________________________________________
Other____________________________________________________

2. You think your need to have mobile is because of your-

Profession Job Business

Hobby Family influence Safety
Status Enjoyment Other reason_____

3. How do you come to know about this mobile handset?

News paper T.V. Internet

Hoardings Magazine Radio
Friends’ Colleague Salesperson
Family Consumer report Retailer
Other ______________

4. Did any person recommend you to buy this mobile?

Yes No
If yes, who? ______________________________

5. With whom you purchased mobile handset?

Self only Family Sales person

Colleague Friend
Other___________

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6. Please indicate the importance of each of the characteristics in
choosing your mobile handset & rate them accordingly?

Extremely important (5)

Very important (4)
Some-what important (3)
Neither-Important nor unimportant (2)
Unimportant (1)

1) Price 5 4 3 2 1
2) Quality 5 4 3 2 1
3) Functions 5 4 3 2 1
4) Brand name 5 4 3 2 1
5) Guaranty/warranty 5 4 3 2 1
6) Resale 5 4 3 2 1
7) Parts availability & 5 4 3 2 1
Repair ability

7. On the same criteria, rate how important following thing for you
1) Status 5 4 3 2 1
2) Style 5 4 3 2 1
3) Colour 5 4 3 2 1
4) Brand endorser 5 4 3 2 1
5) Emotional attachment 5 4 3 2 1
6) Reference group conformity 5 4 3 2 1

8. Read the following sentences and select which is applicable to you

− I selected the mobile which was best in all criteria which I wanted
− I selected the mobile highest in overall criteria

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 − I selected the mobile which had at least one important criterion
which I wanted to have
− I looked at the criteria that was most important to me & chose the
mobile which ranked highest in feature
− I selected the mobile on the base of past experience & knowledge
9. Which of the following handset feature/s you took into consideration at
time of buying mobile?

Phone Size Dual Sim card

Weight Web browser
Standard Battery Type Blue tooth
Music Player USB
FM Radio Java
Camera Keypad size
Video player Navigation
Display size & type Office applications
Phone memory Games
MMC/expandable Other___________

10. With which characteristic/s you can associate your mobile brand.

Sincere Honest Cheerful

Daring Spirited Imaginative
Reliable Intelligent
Sophistication Upper class Charming
Tough Rugged

Thank You

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 Bibliography
Reference Books

 Leslie Lazar Kanuk, Leon G Schiffmen- Consumer Behaviour, 7th

Edition.

 Donald R. Cooper and Pamela S. Schindler, “Business Research

Method, Edition 1999-2000, Tata Mac Grow Hill.

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